Captivated

Welcome Distraction

Well hello again! Long time no see, hm? ;) junior high kids were cute tonight, and it was a nice show. I'm seeing another school's production tomorrow, as well. I guess lots of schools are doing shows this weekend, so if any of you are involved with one, I hope it's going fabulously! I think you'll all like this update, so have fun! Comment and vote xxxx
-ab

—————————————-

June 16, 2025

Patrick

I watch as my girlfriend paces along our kitchen floor. Back and forth. Back and forth.

"Love, you have to take a deep breath and relax. It's all out of your control now, whether or not you get that callback."

"But I really want it," she tells me. "I'm just so stressed."

"They might not even get back to you tonight," I remind her. "They said within twenty-four hours, didn't they?"

"But they know. That's what's really killing me."

I sigh, knowing that I can't argue her on that one.

"Plus," she continues on, "they always give the good news first, and then the bad news."

"Well, did you have a ropey audition?" I ask her.

"Well... no... it was quite good, I believe, but-"

"No buts. You've done all that you can. Like I said, sweetie, it's out of your control. Now, what can I do to help you here?"

"I'm okay," she tells me.

"No, I think we need to get your mind off of this. How would you feel about a movie and some ice cream?"

She looks at me with a smile that makes me want to grab her in my arms, hold her, and never let her go. Every day, she manages to make me happier and happier. "I think that sounds like the best thing ever."

"Alright then," I state, grabbing her hand and dragging her over to the freezer. "Pick your flavour. We have cookie dough, chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter."

"Oh my god," she giggles, "where did all of those come from?"

"I may have made a stop at Tesco while you were in your audition today," I wink at her. "I figured tonight, we would either have to take your mind off of something or have a reason to celebrate."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" she asks, grabbing the carton of cookie dough ice cream out of the freezer and setting it out on the counter. "You even got all of my favourite flavours."

"What can I say? I know you pretty well."

"That's quite true," she acknowledges, standing up on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on my cheek.

"Oh, and love?"

"Hm?"

"Look at what's on the back of the top shelf in the refrigerator."

She opens up the door and shoves the milk out of the way, then squeals with delight. "You are definitely not good for my health, but you always know how to make me smile," she giggles, pulling out the can of whipped cream. Before I can respond, she shakes it up, pulls the lid off, and starts to spray it into her mouth.

"Open up," she then requests, though a mouth full of whipped cream. I do as I'm told and she fills up my mouth with the sweet, white treat. "And now for the ice cream."

I grab the scoop out of the drawer and we pile the dessert into bowls, then finish it off with lots of whipped cream.

Taking our culinary creations to the sofa, the two of us cuddle up underneath a soft blanket and I flick on the telly. "What are you thinking for a movie tonight? Musical? Romantic? Funny?"

"Doesn't matter," she shrugs. "I always love a good musical, but if you want to watch something else, then that's fine."

"We can watch a musical, then," I tell her. "Tonight's all about you, love."

Doing a category search on the telly, I quickly pull up a list of the musicals available to us.

"Oh, Phantom Of The Opera!" she squeals excitedly.

"Didn't we just watch that one a few months ago?"

"That's perfectly fine," she shrugs. "Literally, it's so good that I could watch it once a week and never get tired of it."

"Fine by me if it's fine by you," I laugh, selecting the title, then placing the remote on the sofa beside me. I watch my girlfriend as she is swept away by the first notes of the musical. As she loses herself in the story, she relaxes her tense muscles, and I know that her callback isn't even close to what's she's thinking about.

Then, suddenly, she's startled by her phone ringing. I feel her jump in my arms as she falls out of her trance.

"Well, should you answer that, perhaps?" I ask her with a cheeky grin. She picks up her phone and squeals.

"It's the casting director."

"Well, pick up the phone."

I watch her facial expressions closely as she mutters 'yes' and 'thank you' to the voice on the other end of the line. As she wraps up the call, what I suspect is confirmed when she allows a giant smile to burst onto her face. "Thank you so much. I'll see you then."

"Well?" I ask her, beaming smile spreading across my face.

"I got another callback."

"Congratulations!" I exclaim, throwing my arms around my girlfriend and lifting her up in the air, twirling in her in a circle, then setting her down lightly on her toes. "I'm so proud of you, love."

"Thanks," she smiles, just before the two of us press our lips together in a kiss.

"My god, you're just so gorgeous, so talented, and so sweet; I just love you so much," I tell her, running my hand through her hair as we stand there, our arms wrapped around each other and her head resting on my chest.

"I love you too, Patrick. Thank you so much, babe."

"For what?"

"Just... for being there for me throughout this entire process. Trying to find a job is so stressful... like, I got so ridiculously lucky with Les Mis, as it was my first audition. I hadn't even graduated university yet. Despite all of the stress and craziness, though, you've been so stable through it all. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, I suppose it's fortunate that you don't have to think of that," I laugh. "Finding a job is stressful for anybody in any profession, babe. I'm going to have to do it in a few weeks, and I'm terrified, but I know that you'll be around to support me, just like I've done for you, so I'm not quite as scared as I would be if I was all on my own- no pun intended."

She lets a little giggle slip at my Les Mis reference, before I continue to speak.

"If you get this job, then that's great, but if you have to keep searching for a job, that's great, too. I don't care how long it takes; I'll always support you, no matter what, love. That's what I'm here for. That's the entire concept of a relationship: two people who promise to always love and support each other, no matter what. Some relationships don't work out because of this, but ours is different. Ours is going to work out, becuase we both love and support each other endlessly, and that's never going to change."